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A Houston Man Was Jailed for Weeks in a Case of Mistaken Identity. But Holding Officials Accountable Will Be Nearly Impossible Thanks to the Supreme Court
Imagine police imprison you for a crime someone with the same name as you committed. You plead your innocence to the authorities, the judge, and your attorney but to no avail. Days go by, and ultimately, you’re able to prove your innocence, but the threat of being arrested again for someone else’s crime still looms over you.That nightmare became a reality for Jabon “James” Barrett this past winter and for David Sosa starting in 2014. Both men were mistakenly arrested and jailed, in one case multiple times, because they shared a name with someone who had an outstanding warrant. Both cases show just how easily someone can be stripped of their rights, and how hard it can be to hold officials accountable for their mistakes.
Barrett’s ordeal began one night last November when Houston police spotted a gun in his car at a gas station. Despite being a military veteran with no criminal record and a license to carry a gun, Houston police arrested him believing he was someone else. That individual, who went by the alias “James Barrett,” had a decade-old conviction in Florida. Houston authorities made little effort to verify if they had the right man. Instead, they charged Barrett with unlawfully carrying a weapon and later, a more severe charge that carried a sentence of up to 10 years in prison.
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A Houston Man Was Jailed for Weeks in a Case of Mistaken Identity. But Holding Officials Accountable Will Be Nearly Impossible Thanks to the Supreme Court - Institute for Justice
Imagine police imprison you for a crime someone with the same name as you committed. You plead your innocence to the authorities, the judge, and […]
